This book investigates the origins of figurative language in literary discourse within a cognitive framework. It represents an interface between linguistics and literature and develops a 6-tier theoretical model which analyses the different factors contributing to the creation of figurative words and expressions. By examining features ranging from language structure to figurative thought, cultural history, reference, narrative and the personal experience of authors, it develops a global overview of the processes involved. Due to its particularly innovative characteristics in literature, the theme of death is explored in relation to universal concepts such as love and time. These aspects are discussed in the light of well-known authors in comparative literature such as D.H. Lawrence, Simone De Beauvoir, Hermann Hesse and Jorge Luis Borges. The origins can involve complex conceptual mappings in figures of speech such as metaphor and symbolism. They are often at the roots of an author's personal desires or represent the search for answers to human existence. This approach offers a wide variety of new ideas and research possibilities for postgraduate and research students in modern languages, linguistics and literature. It would also be of interest to academic researchers in these disciplines as well as the general public who would like to delve deeper into the relevant fields.

The present volume represents the results of ideas put forward by specialists of literature, linguistics and translation studies at the Institution of Translation in Europe conference held at the University of Provence in June/July 2006. Its aim is to investigate how English-language literary works have been translated, with the focus primarily on French, and how they have been disseminated in Europe throughout a period going as far back as the Renaissance.Exactly how were translations carried out and with whose support? Which official institutions were involved? What were the translators' intentions? How 'faithful' were translations with regard to source texts? What kind of linguistic and literary difficulties were involved in the translations?These are just some of the questions that the present volume aims to answer. It attempts to give an overview which covers a variety of aspects on the complex task of making suitable translations available to the European public. The result, however, is that translations have often been portrayed in quite a different light to the original...